Delaware native raising funds for First State indie film

A Brooklyn-based director is trying to use her low budget indie film to draw attention to Delaware as a great location for other filmmakers.

Writer and director Lindsey Copeland needs to raise $500,000 to make her film “Thumper” a reality.

While the movie may be about a pair of high school sweethearts who are accidentally reunited on the eve of their respective weddings to other people, Copeland says the state of Delaware plays the silent third lead.  “Really what’s exciting about making a movie [in Delaware] is sometimes the quietness and sometimes the stillness.  You can see the smaller moments of beauty in that.”  

Copeland, who now lives in Brooklyn after growing up in Delaware, believes her film could lure other filmmakers to consider shooting movies in the First State.  “Delaware has so much opportunity for filming.”

Beyond the landscape, the quality of Delaware residents also drew Copeland to return home to film her next project.  “The people are super friendly.  I think there is a really strong sense of community and a lot of places in Delaware have unique stories behind them.”  She hopes to get as many Delawareans and Delaware businesses involved in the film making process as possible.

She says “Thumper” deals with the nostalgic longing for the way things used to be versus the actual way things were, “The difference really between the way these characters remember their shared histories versus the way it really was.  How we can sometimes have a very slanted view of nostalgia and how we can sometimes color the past in our memory.”

Using Kickstarter to raise money for films has become more popular in recent years.  Even some big Hollywood names are getting in on the act.  A film based off the show “Veronica Mars” has raised nearly $6 million from 96,000 supporters, and “Scrubs” star Zach Braff raised more than $3 million for his follow up to “Garden State.”

But with no big names attached, Copeland is facing an uphill battle to raise the half a million she needs to make her film.  “A lot of people would say what we’re doing is kind of nuts,” said Copeland of the effort to raise so much money in such a small amount of time.  “I really believe that this is something people want to see happen, and I believe that by making this film [in Delaware] we’re going to draw a lot of attention to the state and draw a lot of attention for more filming.”

While $500,000 seems like a lot of money to most people, it’s small change in the film business.  Copeland says a movie with a $2.5 million budget is considered a “low budget” SAG-AFTRA film.  “Thumper” is considered a modified low budget film.  Copeland has until June 28 to raise the total sum.

In addition to collecting support through the film’s page on Kickstarter, Copeland will host a party to celebrate the Kickstarter campaign and raise money.  The presentation about the film and a chance to meet members of the production team will be held Thursday night June 13 at Project Space in Wilmington. 

Copeland hopes to start filming in Delaware in August.

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You can see Copeland’s Kickstarter pitch for “Thumper” below.